Sep 16, 2008 - 11:43 pm .- Following yet another series of attacks on Christian places of worship by suspected Hindu militants, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has warned that the anti-Christian violence in Orissa state could spread to other parts of India.

Sep 16, 2008 - 08:36 pm .- The Archbishop of Toledo, Cardinal Antonio Canizares, said during a homily this week that it is the duty of each and every member of society “to support and strengthen the family and its foundation.” This must be done by spreading the truth about marriage as “a lifelong indissoluble union between a man and a woman, rooted in love and open to life,” he said.

Sep 16, 2008 - 07:12 pm .- Thousands of Catholics participated in three Masses celebrated by the bishops of Ecuador this past weekend, with the president of the Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Antonio Arregui Yarza, reminding Ecuadorans that the rights of the unborn must be respected. “We must all help these lives to achieve viability when there are problems. We can never accept that these lives are sacrificed,” he said.

Sep 16, 2008 - 05:30 pm .- Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain spoke about the place of religion and politics in a Friday appearance on the ABC daytime talk show The View. While professing respect for people regardless of their religious beliefs, he said he prayed for God’s guidance and claimed the United States was founded upon “Judeo-Christian values.”

Sep 16, 2008 - 04:41 pm .- Bishop Demetrio Fernandez of Tarazona said this week that amidst a culture of death in Spain that promotes abortion and genetic manipulation, large families open to life are a sign of hope for a new and better future.

Sep 16, 2008 - 01:21 pm .- The Archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera said in his homily on Sunday that the law of “an eye for an eye is not the way” to solve the problem of violence in the country, and called on Mexicans to embrace “forgiveness, mercy and reconciliation” in order to confront the current complicated situation.

Sep 16, 2008 - 10:50 am .- Two universities from different sides of the Atlantic announced plans today to hold an international conference to discuss Charles Darwin’s work “The Origin of the Species.” The conference will approach Darwin’s theory of evolution from a scientific standpoint, rather than an ideological one, an organizer explained.

Sep 16, 2008 - 10:21 am .- In an address sent for the opening of the 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the participants to continue upholding the dignity of each human person and to build a world of “ever greater solidarity, freedom and peace.”

Sep 16, 2008 - 02:22 am .- A requiem Mass was celebrated on Monday for Thomas S. Vander Woude, a former athletic director at Christendom College who died saving his Down Syndrome son who had fallen into a septic tank.

Sep 16, 2008 - 12:24 am .- Citing ethical objections and the potential of some contraceptive drugs to cause abortions, some pharmacies in the United States have decided not to carry contraceptives. One such store is Kay Pharmacy in Grand Rapids, Michigan, owned by Mike Koelzer, who explained his decision not to carry contraceptives in an e-mail interview with CNA.